DISTRICT ATTORNEY

OF THE

COUNTY OF NEW YORK

ONE HOGAN PLACENew York, N. Y. 10013(212) 335-9000

CYRUS

VANCE,

JR.

ISTRICT

TTORNEY

November 29, 2010BY FAXHonorable John SampsonConference Leader, New York State SenateLegislative Office BuildingRoom 409Albany, New York 12247Honorable Sheldon SilverSpeaker, New York State AssemblyLegislative Office BuildingRoom 932Albany, New York 12248Dear Sirs:

I write in support of Governor Paterson’s call for a bill to establish a commission to

evaluate and adjust judicial salaries when the Legislature returns to Albany for its finalsession. Such a commission, as has been commonly conceived, would be comprised of members appointed by all three branches of government, who would use objectiveeconomic data to recommend fair and appropriate judicial compensation every four years.Simply put, the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary depend on making surethat the best and the brightest are appointed to the bench and given the incentive to stay.As you are aware, our judges have not received a salary increase in 11 years, whichcontinues to place a financial strain on them. Recently, one of our appellate judgesannounced that he was stepping down because of his financial concerns in raising hisfamily. And many sitting judges regularly raise such concerns in our Manhattancourthouses. Countless others are no doubt dissuaded from seeking the bench because of the gravity of the problem. What has been for more than a decade a political problemcries out for the non-political solution of a quadrennial commission.In light of the importance of this issue to all of our communities and to the administrationof the criminal justice system, it is not surprising that the vast majority of candidates forSenate and Assembly who responded to a recent survey by the Committee for ModernCourts support the establishment of a commission. The Committee surveyed more than300 candidates seeking election in 2010 on a number of topics, including judicial raises.Of those who responded, nearly 90% indicated that they would support a judicial salary